Rent Heat (1995)

2 of the greatest actors = great film! - Heat review by CP Customer

I heard this was a great classic, and as a Pacino/De Niro fan - I felt I needed to watch this.

It was nice to see both of my fav actors in a film although the roles were unexpected. Pacino played the dedicated cop who was hunting down the leader of a clever gang of thieves.

The only slight flaw I suppose is that it was longer than it could have been - but I personally didn't mind as it kept me interested. Each character had a little story of their own along side the main concept of Thieving/chasing.... but not to the point where you get confused. Very well written and directed. The stories come together at the end.

I must mention that Val Kilmer also plays a good part. He plays the character well and also sports a very different hairstyle! Lol!

A good watch and another addition to my list of classics.

Enjoy!

Epic But Flawed - Heat review by CP Customer

The onscreen clash of the titans in Heat overshadows the rest of the film. Michael Mann shows his customary flair for detail and action sequences but Heat is bogged down by far too much excess. A more streamlined vision would have been beneficial.

A Modern Masterpiece - Heat review by GI

A modern masterpiece and one of the defining American crime films of modern times. Director Michael Mann, a cinematic auteur if there has ever been one, has here made his greatest film and it bears all of his narrative and visual style, involves an intricate character study of two protagonists at opposite sides of the moral divide and is edited cleverly and uniquely opening up several small storylines that all seem to add to the mix of this fantastic film. Set in Los Angeles where a small yet highly professional criminal crew led by Neil (Robert De Niro) carry out a daring daylight armoured car heist. Their decision to use an untested and unreliable addition to their team who acts bloodthirstily during the robbery starts a chain of events that forms the basis of the film's plot. The robbery is investigated by the equally professional and dedicated police unit led by Vincent (Al Pacino). The two main characters of Neil and Vincent are the centre of Mann's story with Neil planning a big robbery and Vincent prowling around on the hunt for him and his team. The film has two famous scenes, the fast, realistic bank robbery that results in a street gun battle and a meeting in a coffee shop between Neil and Vincent who form a respect for each other. With Mann's typical but beautiful cityscape visuals especially at night and his eye for the close up juxtapositioned with sharp, quick violence makes this a compiling almost hypnotic film. There's also a great soundtrack that compliments the film perfectly. The support cast including Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Ashley Judd and others are all excellent. This is modern American cinema at its very, very best and you'll be hard pressed to find a better film.